Mack Hay serves up an ace during the boys game against Fort Saskatchewan Sept. 21.
The R.F. Staples senior T-Birds volleyball teams put on a show for the home crowd last weekend with both girls and boys coming away from the tournament with silver medals for their efforts.
Six teams on each side took part in the R.F. Staples Senior Varsity Invitational Tournament Sept. 20-21, with the local T-birds taking on teams from Athabasca, Fort Saskatchewan, Edson, Edmonton and St. Albert over the two day tournament.
“The tournament went well,” said boys coach Kyle Beattie. “We played seven matches and we had a few injuries so the guys were pretty exhausted.”
After beating St. Albert Catholic High School and St. Francis Xavier High School from Edmonton in their opening matches Friday, the boys were looking for a strong finish going into their Saturday matches against Parkland Composite High from Edson, Edwin Parr Composite School from Athabasca and Fort Saskatchewan High School. They defeated all comers until the gold medal match.
It wasn’t in the cards though as the T-birds fell to the team from St. Albert in three sets and settled for the silver.
Beattie said the season ahead looks good for the boys, pointing out there are seven rookies on the team this year and three Grade 12 players.
“The rookies are great though,” said Beattie. “Things are coming together. We’ve had a chance for quite a few guys to explore new positions this year and most players are pretty versatile.”
R.F. Staples T-Bird Camryn Wiegand sets up the ball for a teammate during the senior girls game against Edwin Parr Composite.
On the girls side, the T-Birds played the same schools as the boys and were pretty much just as successful.
“It’s good to be competitive at our own tournament. It gives the girls some confidence going forward for the rest of the season,” said girls coach Jessica Carlyon.
Most of the teams they played are in the same zone as the R.F. Staples team, so it was good to see what they have in front of them for the season, because they will play each other again, said Carlyon.
The team finished second to St. Albert in round robin play and defeated Edwin Parr Composite in two sets in the semifinal, which meant another match against St. Albert for the gold, which the girls lost in three sets to secure the silver.
“It was pretty close to the best we’ve played this season so I’m not too worried about it. There’s lots of good things that happened out there and great communication between the girls. There showing a lot more coach ability and confidence on the floor,” said Carlyon.
There are three rookies on the team this year along with three Grade 12 players and the rest are Grade 11s.
